► The paradigm of liberal peacebuilding has dominated the discourse in the field since the early 1990s. The liberal peace theory is grounded in the notion…
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▼ The paradigm of liberal peacebuilding has dominated the discourse in the field since the early 1990s. The liberal peace theory is grounded in the notion of democratic liberalism that advances the arguments that liberal democracies are the preferred system of governance that advances principles of “democratic peace.” Such a notion dictates how international powers function as well as international institutions, including the United Nations, which targets states in the global South for interventions. However, the liberal peace paradigm that removes the locals from the politics has come under criticism for the lack of participation, legitimacy and ownership of local actors in the political and peace processes.
The criticisms of liberal peace signify vacuums in the field of peacebuilding within which the concept of statebuilding is evolving as a complementary entity. Related to this, efforts are being made to explore the integration of these two concepts, although they have different traditions. However, this researcher explores probable interaction of the concepts. When the concepts of statebuilding and peacebuilding are understood as interacting, the tendency is for inclusion—not exclusion—of groups, which might otherwise derail the political processes. For this reason, the integrated processes tend to work, while processes in which the two are seen as unrelated, the tendency towards exclusion of groups may lead towards the end of the processes.
The focus of this research is on the dynamics of statebuilding and peacebuilding by exploring the case study of Nepal, a country currently transitioning from violence towards the construction of an inclusive and democratic state. The discourse of the liberal peace paradigm dominates the interventions of statebuilding and peacebuilding in Nepal. So, the researcher explores the impact of liberal peacebuilding by looking at the (1) denial of participation in the decision making process, and (2) foreign interventions that have caused the failure of negotiation and the collapse of the Constituent Assembly in May 2012.
The research findings confirm that the denial of participation of the political actors, including competing ethnic identities, in the decision making of the political and peace processes coupled with foreign interventions, led to the collapse of the processes, making this a far worse problem than either would have been in isolation. While doing so, this researcher explores practical and empirical propositions on the interactive nature of
statebuilding and peacebuilding mediated by the theoretical frameworks that lean towards inclusion, not exclusion.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► In earlier efforts by many researchers to explain the breakdown of peacemaking initiatives to settle the Cyprus question, the focus has been primarily on one…
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▼ In earlier efforts by many researchers to explain the breakdown of peacemaking initiatives to settle the Cyprus question, the focus has been primarily on one or just a few initiatives. This dissertation takes a systematic and holistic approach to examining all 41 peacemaking initiatives to settle the Cyprus question from 1955 onward under the auspices of the United Nations and/or other actors in the international system, including the United States, Canada, the UK, Greece and Turkey. I believe that the qualitative analysis of peacemaking strategies, dynamics and obstacles (and in conjunction with various research literature) fleshes out numerous relationships between: (i) peacemaking processes, dynamics and outcomes, from signaling to post-accord completion and implementation; (ii) the relationship between concessions, constraints and leverage during peacemaking negotiations; and (iii) obstacles to finding an endgame solution that all parties can agree on, and overall obstacles that are detrimental to lasting peace in Cyprus. After concluding 62 interviews with top political leaders in Cyprus (including top tier elected elites and 3rd party mediators) and about 70 more interviews with key informants (including academics, researchers, members of negotiating teams, technical committees and working groups), this dissertation concludes with a plethora of descriptive propositions on how peacemaking processes could lead to more sustainable and implementable peacemaking initiatives in Cyprus and perhaps in similar protracted cases.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► Turkey’s international relations policy has changed constantly in the past ten years. Based on the motto of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk- the founder of the young…
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▼ Turkey’s international relations policy has changed constantly in the past ten years. Based on the motto of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk- the founder of the young Turkish Republic- “peace at home, peace in the world”, Turkey strives to mediate conflicts in its region and internationally. This study describes Turkey’s efforts as an intermediary, with its weaknesses and strengths. Following a comprehensive literature review on mediation and Turkey’s previous mediation efforts, this research focuses on the opinions of Turkish diplomats and Turkish academicians of Turkey’s role as a mediator. The results of the analysis show that Turkey has the potential to continue its mediation efforts in the future, however, it needs to strengthen its human capacity to engage better in conflicts and help the conflicting parties reach sustainable resolution and peace.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► International peace and stability interventions have evolved into complex multi-sector multi-level, enterprises usually achieving a negative peace status. However, in some "post-conflict" environments, conflict party…
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▼ International peace and stability interventions have evolved into complex multi-sector multi-level, enterprises usually achieving a negative peace status. However, in some "post-conflict" environments, conflict party sentiments that precipitated the intervention remain largely unchanged, despite intense diplomatic and reconstruction efforts. The overall aim of this research is to assess the problem of a peace and stability intervention and environment stalled in negative peace and to explore parameters for achieving and maintaining sustainable positive peace. The research design includes composite frameworks and analytical tools created or adapted for the study utilizing an exploratory approach and abduction theory. The study is a mixed-method but largely qualitatively driven exercise in conceptualizations aided by a survey, using a scheduled-structured interview format, involving 50 Bosnian nationals and 50 intervenors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 1990s conflict and subsequent intervention was taken as a case study. Findings were assessed for the perceived status of conflict transformation structural and relational elements, and inferred association with a War- to-Sustainable Positive Peace Continuum containing key intervention thresholds. Implications and recommendations for theory, research, practice, and policy, are discussed.
By building on and departing from Johan Gultung's original concepts of negative and positive peace, and utilizing a variety of other concepts, the study concludes that it is possible to assess peace and stability operations and environments in structural and relational and negative and positive peace terms, and make compelling conclusions and recommendations regarding implications for peace and stability interventions and research, theory, practice, and policy. The different perceptions of Track 1 and Track 2 - 9 intervenors on what constitutes conflict transformation, were explored as an integral dynamic of the inquiry.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► Social identity has been shown to significantly impact – or even to cause – conflicts. However, it appears to be a relatively unstudied influence in…
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▼ Social identity has been shown to significantly impact – or even to cause –
conflicts. However, it appears to be a relatively unstudied influence in terms of situations
of environmental crisis, Western development aid, and conflict over natural resources.
This study attempts to address this gap using the case study of the Aral Sea
environmental situation as it has played out in Uzbekistan. The hypothesis is that the
Uzbek regime has been able to manipulate social identity of outsiders in order to fulfill its
own agenda, garner benefits, and otherwise improve its means of control in Uzbekistan.
The research investigates the role of history in Uzbekistan as well as post-Communist
dynamics and factors and uses Charles Tilly’s mechanisms as a means of understanding
the dynamics and processes involved in social identity manipulation.
Additionally, Western professionals (e.g., academics, NGOs, IFIs, government
workers) involved in the Aral Sea situation or related issues in Uzbekistan were targeted
for study in order to determine their perceptions about the role of social identity in their
work and in the situation in general. Interviews as well as an online survey were
conducted. Results indicate that social identity has been a significant influence in the
situation. However, the situation is extremely complex and requires further study.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

Minde, J. M. (2011). Shared Reservoir as Irony: The Role of Social Identity in the Aral Sea Environmental Situation
. (Thesis). George Mason University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1920/6602

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Minde, Julie M. “Shared Reservoir as Irony: The Role of Social Identity in the Aral Sea Environmental Situation
.” 2011. Thesis, George Mason University. Accessed May 25, 2019.
http://hdl.handle.net/1920/6602.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Minde, Julie M. “Shared Reservoir as Irony: The Role of Social Identity in the Aral Sea Environmental Situation
.” 2011. Web. 25 May 2019.

Vancouver:

Minde JM. Shared Reservoir as Irony: The Role of Social Identity in the Aral Sea Environmental Situation
. [Internet] [Thesis]. George Mason University; 2011. [cited 2019 May 25].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1920/6602.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

Minde JM. Shared Reservoir as Irony: The Role of Social Identity in the Aral Sea Environmental Situation
. [Thesis]. George Mason University; 2011. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1920/6602

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

► This research is a comparative case study of eight states in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East assessing the impact of external military interventions…
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▼ This research is a comparative case study of eight states in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East assessing the impact of external military interventions in response to the perceived threat of state failure in the post Cold War, post 9/11 landscape. The study is guided by the concern that prominent Western literature on state failure and fragility is focused on endogenous sources of state weakness and precludes the importance of the regional and global context. It contributes to the literature by presenting a comprehensive multi-level diagnostic framework to effectively guide viable third party interventions in weak, fragile and failed states. Theoretical inquiry is guided by a small-N approach to explore the context of state fragility and failure in a range of weak, fragile and failed states. Additionally, the research brings to the fore divergent and converging perspectives on the failed states problematique extant in the Global North and the South, integrating them in the proposed theoretical framework. The study notes that predominant Western discourses on state failure associate the problem with an acute perception of threat to Western security particularly from states of strategic concern, frequently supported by reactive and zero-sum responses. It test the hypothesis that in the post Cold War, post 9/11 landscape external military interventions in failed and fragile states are more likely to be driven by the security objectives of key global actors and less by humanitarian and development concerns for vulnerable populations. It claims that external military interventions often exacerbate and prolong the dynamics of state instability, compounding the threat to regional and global security. Research findings suggest that the viability of external military interventions in failed and fragile states will depend on the extent to which they are integrated in an overarching conflict resolution process involving bottom-up multilateral interventions at the levels of the state, civil society, region and the wider global community. Another compelling finding of the research suggests that weak and failing states subjected to the least amount of external intervention are more likely to self-stabilize and embark upon sustainable trajectories of peace. To conclude, the study integrates the findings of the literature review, expert interviews and comparative case studies to make policy recommendations for multilateral collaborative interventions to transform the environment of state fragility and failure.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► The main aim of this study is to explore the relationships between historical memories and group attitudes to determine whether the positive or negative ways…
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▼ The main aim of this study is to explore the relationships between historical memories and group attitudes to determine whether the positive or negative ways of remembering actors involved in these events will have an influence on whether one positively or negatively views the actors’ group affiliation. Out of the 210 survey participants, 48.6 percent (N=102) came from the non-war affected areas and 51.4 percent (N=108) from conflict affected areas. Finally, this study concludes that the more support one gives to the negative historical figures, the more negative their attitudes will be toward the groups involved in such incidents. Hence, the way we collectively remember a group will dictate the way we will behave towards them. Moreover, viewing a group as negative reinforces the individuals’ negative attitudes towards them insofar as peaceful coexistence and/or reconciliation in such situation becomes of limited or no importance.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► This thesis presents the results of a descriptive study of the "nature-nurture" debate on the origins of human aggression, strong group affiliation, and rise of…
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▼ This thesis presents the results of a descriptive study of the "nature-nurture" debate on the
origins of human aggression, strong group affiliation, and rise of altruistic tendencies in
human beings, particularly as it relates to collective violence. In the process of
researching and writing this thesis, the author conducted literature reviews and conducted
interviews with combat veterans. This thesis is slated to be a reference and resource to
inform graduate students’, researchers’ and conflict interveners’ appreciation for the
potential predisposition toward, and viability of, combat held by parties in conflict.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).

► History is heavily rooted in what can be called narrative politics - different versions of the same historical event are tools used to assert, maintain…
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▼ History is heavily rooted in what can be called narrative politics - different versions of the same historical event are tools used to assert, maintain or challenge action and legitimacy of the Other. Discursive contention is often transmitted into the realm of relationships and interactions on the ground that are marked by tensions and divisions. Eastern Slavonia will serve as a case study to explore how the members of school communities are affected by the master historical discourses, how this translates into their views of the Self and the Other and what is the role of teachers and parents in this process. The purpose of this study is to learn from school communities about the ways of dealing with the legacy of their contentious past and how this local knowledge can be used to promote interethnic understanding and tolerance as well as prevention of future violence.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sandole, DennisJ. D (advisor).